Every decision in life isn’t the government’s to make. Most decisions, certainly those that have to do with personal safety, belong to the individual.

Republican State Rep. John A. Torbett of Gaston County has filed a bill that would nix North Carolina’s mandatory helmet law, leaving riders 21 and older free to decide for themselves whether to wear one or not.

His reason is on target: “What this is about to me is pretty much the freedom of an adult to choose.”

Agreed. This is all about the freedom of adults to choose what is best for them — even if that choice is a bad one. Make that a very bad one.

There is much debate on whether the helmet law makes sense and does what it was intended to do — prevent serious injuries and save lives.

Dr. Pascal Odekwu, director of the trauma unit at a Wake County hospital, sees a lot of serious injuries, including those of motorcycle riders involved in wrecks. He supports mandatory helmets, recently telling lawmakers that they reduce high medical and rehabilitation costs that often fall to taxpayers.

Torbett, who has been riding a motorcycle since his teen years, calls that argument off base and backs up his opinion with information from the Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

That information includes:

■ 63 percent of motorcycle wreck fatalities do not involve major head injuries that would have been prevented by the use of a helmet.

■ Motorcycle wreck fatalities often are caused by wounds to the torso or its internal organs.

■ Helmets offer less protection the faster the motorcyclist is riding.

■ North Carolina’s current rate of motorcycle fatalities is 12 percent of total traffic deaths, roughly the same as the 11 percent in South Carolina, which has no mandatory helmet law.

With differing opinions and information from both sides of the issue, where would you come down?

Like so many other decisions, this is one the government has no business making for motorcyclists. All rides do not take place in the same conditions, and Torbett cites a good example of how individuals can make sensible decisions.

He says he always wears a helmet in heavy traffic, but not on country roads in South Carolina.

The truth is, safety can’t be guaranteed by the government or by individuals. Judgment always comes into play in decision-making.

We hold out hope that the bill will move quickly through the Legislature. It has already been approved by one panel of lawmakers.

If nothing else it calls attention to the ever-growing government idea where people in power mistakenly believe they have the authority to rule your life.